The Technomage and the Mirror
by Gadrin
Summary: What happens when our favorite Technomage runs afoul of DS9's mirror counterparts? RNR to find out.


THE TECHNOMAGE AND THE MIRROR  
  
(Characters are copyright JMS and Paramount, the story's mine. Big  
thanks to Jo Taylor whose stories here showed us all there's still  
lots of ground to cover and the Well ain't dry :)  
  
Galen strode onto the bridge and sat. He'd just received a message  
from his ship concerning some anomalous readings as it cruised  
through this section of hyperspace.  
  
"Display sensor readout," the technomage raised a cupped hand and a  
small hologram appeared. He studied it closely, the readings were  
highly unusual. An area roughly the size of a small moon seemed to  
be in flux. It was as though an energy stream were trying to emerge.  
  
The hologram vanished. He visualized a blank screen, then conjured a  
message equation and sent it off.  
  
A few hundred meters to the starboard flew another Technomage flyer,  
black like Galen's, save for the symbol of a golden dragon on each  
wing.  
  
A reply came back momentarily.  
  
"Yes Galen, what is it?"  
  
"I'm detecting something very strange. Tell me what you see."  
  
Alwyn accessed his own sensors and saw what Galen meant.  
  
"Hmmm, most unusual. The readings are similar to the energy  
signature of a jumpgate, but much, much more intense."  
  
"Yes, that's what I thought. I'd like to take a look at it."  
  
"Fine," said Alwyn, "I cannot tarry. I must make my rendezvous and  
meet with Linari. Follow along as soon as you've finished. We'll  
talk later."  
  
The connection between the pair dropped and Galen's ship changed  
course, doubling back until he was within a few kilometers of the  
anomaly.  
  
This time Galen conjured a larger hologram, using both hands.  
  
"Remarkable," he whispered as the sensor display flashed. He studied  
it for several minutes until the readout suddenly spiked.  
  
There was a large flash and a titanic hole ripped open in front of  
the technomage's ship, enveloping it completely. Like a rowboat  
wallowing in stormy sea, Galen's ship swirled around the anomaly  
before disappearing inside.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Magnificent!" whispered the Cardassian Damarr.  
  
Smiley O'Brien paused to look up from his readouts at the artificial  
wormhole. Damarr was right, it was bloody sweet.  
  
Five, Galor-class, Cardassian warships were grouped together facing  
a small proto-star and were bombarding the region with verteron  
streams. A sixth ship focused a gravimetric beam on the area,  
causing it to blossom into a small wormhole.  
  
O'Brien's previous attempts had produced short-lived gaps in space,  
lasting for a few heartbeats before collapsing back together. The  
gravimetric force hadn't been large enough, so the Intendant had the  
Tinkerer strip the three largest, ship-mountable units available for  
the experiment. Now, with three times the gravitic force issuing  
from a single ship, Smiley had been able to open a stable tunnel.  
  
"What are readings?" shouted O'Brien.  
  
The Cardassians on the sensor stations relayed good news: it was  
stable.  
  
"Wait a minute..." called one of the bridge officers. "There's  
something inside it."  
  
"Something inside it?" repeated O'Brien, his hopes were beginning to  
fade. If this didn't work it'd be back to ore processing for him --  
if the Intendant was feeling generous. Otherwise he'd join Captain  
Sisko, Quark and the others she'd put to death.  
  
"Yes, it's...it's moving, it's...a small ship."  
  
Every head on the bridge turned towards the viewscreen.  
  
Emerging from the hole was a tiny, triangular, black ship.  
  
"It IS a starship," a smile broke on O'Brien's face. "From the Gamma  
Quadrant. I guess it works!"  
  
"Yes!" crowed Damarr.  
  
The tinkerer cut the gravimetric beam and the wormhole collapsed.  
The other ships ceased their bombardment as well. The area returned  
to normal.  
  
Damarr barked out orders for their escorts to halt the strange ship.  
  
"Escort it back to Terok Nor."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"I don't know any Captain Sisko or Major Kira," said Galen for the  
tenth time, becoming frustrated. "You've obviously confused me with  
someone else."  
  
The Intendant was beginning to believe the stranger. The man was a  
space-goer, but not from the other side of the mirror. He was from a  
completely different looking glass. "I'm finished with him."  
  
"He's mine then?" asked Garak.  
  
"Yes," said the Intendant.  
  
"Good!" Garak's eyes flashed dreamily. "The execution will be  
carried out immediately!"  
  
"No," replied the Intendant.  
  
"No execution? I thought he was mine!"  
  
"Keep him in detention until I decide what do with him."  
  
"Ore processing?"  
  
"No, use the detention area, until he's been fully interrogated.  
Then he can be moved into the work area."  
  
Garak grunted his assent. It wasn't nearly as diverting as an  
execution, but he'd have his way soon enough.  
  
"Oh, and have the Tinkerer sent to my chamber. I want to  
congratulate him personally."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Galen moved his hand in front of his eyes to activate his tech's  
connection to the display in his optic nerve.  
  
A series of reticles formed as his sensors took inventory of the  
detention cell. Whoever these people were they were highly advanced.  
The shields around the cell opening were quite powerful, more so  
than anything he'd ever seen. His eyes drifted to the ceiling and  
his sensors located a camera lens and the accompanying sensor gear.  
His Cardassian jailer and his charges were undoubtedly monitoring  
him remotely.  
  
Galen removed a tiny microscopic probe from his cloak. He cleared  
his mind and visualized the equation to conjure a tiny flying  
platform under the probe, then added an equation for movement. He  
sent the item up into the ceiling, so that it slipped through the  
slim gap around the bubble's edge. He then accessed the probe. In  
his mind's eye he could see the inner workings of the device: the  
camera, the relays and conduits it was connected to. He recorded it  
in detail then withdrew the platform, leaving the probe in place.  
Again, the equipment was very advanced, but it was all based on  
physics; the same physics that allowed his own tech to work  
obviously functioned in this universe as well.  
  
That done, he turned his attention to the force field around the  
cell. He wasn't about to sit still while his alien jailers  
interrogated him. Garak seemed to be particularly vicious. It took  
him an hour, but he discovered how the force field functioned.  
  
After a while he lay down, feigning sleep. He maintained a hologram  
over himself, laying on the cell's bare bed, sleeping. He visualized  
the connection to the camera above rupturing, momentarily  
incapacitating it. He then disappeared and reactivated the camera,  
all in the space of a heartbeat. He disabled the force-field  
similarly, while maintaining the illusion of his body, asleep in the  
cell.  
  
Unseen, he crossed the detention area and quietly left Ops.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Smiley O'Brien was enjoying his drink. He had several, earlier,  
compliments of the Intendant, along with a magnificent meal. She was  
quite pleased with his success, so much so that she let him take the  
bottle of brandy with him once she was finished with him.  
  
O'Brien reflected on the fact that six months ago, after being  
captured at the Terran base he'd been hiding at, he was nearly  
executed -- only saved by the data files he'd compiled from his  
previous trip to the other side of the mirror. Before kidnapping the  
other Sisko he'd borrowed a runabout, easy since he was masquerading  
as his twin, and took the craft through the wormhole. The craft's  
sophisticated sensors had recorded the event. It was his intention  
to somehow recreate one once he got back, either on his own or with  
help from the Terrans. If Sisko's Jem'Hadar were opposed on his  
side, they might be amenable on his, which naturally meant the Vorta  
and the Changelings might be similarly disposed.  
  
The Intendant had thought so too, but only after discovering both  
his data on the wormhole and the Gamma Quadrant races. Her current  
allies, the Klingons and Cardassians weren't quite enough. If she  
could enlist the aid of the races from her own Gamma Quadrant, she  
could conquer the Alpha Quadrant easily. Unlike Sisko's side of the  
mirror, whose wormhole was controlled by the Prophets, she intended  
to be the sole regent, and the wormhole would only open at her whim.  
Of course O'Brien hadn't opened it to the Gamma Quadrant, but his  
test had produced results. Who knew what races lay beyond this new  
rift? Perhaps there were allies to be exploited here as well.  
  
O'Brien felt a small draft. Drunkenly, he turned just in time to see  
the door hiss close.  
  
He'd expected one of the Intendant's Cardassians or Klingons,  
instead it was a tall, thin figure, swathed in black, a hood drawn  
up over his head.  
  
"Whoooz there?" he stuttered. He frowned, wondering where the guards  
the Intendant had posted outside his door were. They always escorted  
people in, unless it were Garak or the Intendant herself. "I said,  
whoooz there?"  
  
The dark figure stepped forward, removing its hood, "I'm the fellow  
you conjured up to join you today."  
  
"Huh? Computer...lights."  
  
The room became brighter and there stood Galen.  
  
"Whatcha want? Come for a drink?"  
  
Galen made to speak, then thought better, "Why, yes, a drink. A  
toast to your skills."  
  
The technomage visualized the spell for light and several small,  
softly glowing orbs appeared before the Tinkerer's eyes. They  
rotated, slowly at first, then faster until Smiley went crossed-eyed  
and blacked out.  
  
As the Tinkerer slept, Galen accessed the man's computer, looking  
for any information he could find on where he was and how he might  
return home.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Good then we are in agreement," Linari, a tall, powerfully built  
Brakiri clapped his hands together at Alwyn's concordance. "You'll  
join me for supper as well?" he asked the technomage.  
  
"Hmmm, yes, well I'd like to it's just that I'm expecting  
someone..."  
  
"Bring them along! It's a wonderful night," the Brakiri interrupted.  
His voice sunk suddenly to a whisper, "A woman perhaps?"  
  
Alwyn seemed preoccupied, "No, no another of my order actually. A  
friend." He scanned his ship's sensors. Galen's flyer hadn't entered  
the system.  
  
"Well it'd be a shame to drink alone. This place caters to my  
tastes," explained the Brakiri, describing a vintage that Alwyn  
liked as well. The technomage had a predilection towards women and  
drink, though not necessarily in that order.  
  
"Ah, well normally I wouldn't think twice, but I'd expected him to  
be along by now."  
  
"We compromise," suggested the Brakiri. "You come, eat, have a few  
drinks, then if your friend has still not come, I help you find  
him."  
  
Alwyn thought of the vintage, "Well, he is a big boy, quite capable  
of taking care of himself."  
  
* * * * *  
  
A dozen Klingon warbirds assembled a few kilometers from Terok Nor.  
They floated in space, waiting for the larger Cardassian ships to  
make formation.  
  
The Intendant had called on the Tinkerer early, surprising him,  
finding him in his cups. She had the Cardassian guards escort the  
man to the infirmary, where her medical technicians administered a  
remedy.  
  
"Feeling better?" she asked, taking his chin in her hand. O'Brien  
nodded. "Good. I've decided on another test today. I want you to  
replicate yesterday's results. I want everything to be the same  
including the time. You feel up to that?" she placed her hands on  
her hips.  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
"Good Tinkerer," she paced back in forth, O'Brien's eyes following  
her. She was wearing her skin-tight, black leather outfit, which  
always attracted looks. "I've always liked you. Even when you  
spurned my hospitality before, I always regretted not being able to  
find a place for you in my empire." She stopped, bent forward to  
look right in his eyes. "But you found your own place, and I'm  
extremely gratified."  
  
O'Brien felt uneasy. She always made him feel uneasy. It was the way  
she looked at him, like she was studying her next meal.  
  
"Now, we'll get to the ships and I can witness your experiment first  
hand."  
  
"You're coming too?" he said.  
  
"Yes," the Intendant's face broke into a her well practiced smile.  
"I want to be there for your moment of triumph."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Galen spent most of the day in Ops. Not as himself, rather, wearing  
a carefully constructed disguise of one of the Cardassian guards.  
  
Garak had discovered Galen's illusion in detention and was chasing  
his tail, turning the station upside down looking for him. The  
technomage made sure holograms of him popped up from time to time,  
in different parts of the station, leading the Security man in  
circles and frustrating him greatly. His pursuers were able to  
create force fields at any point along the station's corridors, but  
somehow the fugitive remained at large.  
  
Ops was relatively quiet, only a skeleton crew remained as the  
others had gone off on some trip the technomage had been unable to  
discover.  
  
Galen spent the whole time accessing files, gathering information on  
the station, its people, and of course its remarkable technology.  
  
Finally, after several hours of synthesizing the data from Garak's  
own station, he was done, leaving behind a holodemon in case he  
needed further help.  
  
Galen was a bit hungry and headed out to the Promenade. As he ate he  
noticed a stream of people heading towards Ops. More Cardassians and  
Klingons, Smiley O'Brien among them. The Tinkerer's help had been  
invaluable in accessing the computer system, allowing him to use his  
ring to duplicate the language codes of the station's equipment as  
well some access codes. The rest he'd done on his own.  
  
A shock suddenly ran down his spine.  
  
The middle group was comprised of the Intendant her guards and a  
robed guest with thick horns upon his head.  
  
A Drahk.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Alwyn's sensors notified him when his flyer approached the point in  
hyperspace where Galen had discovered the strange readings.  
  
"What the deuce," he barked as he examined the readout in detail. He  
wasn't alone, there were three Drahk ships stopped in the area. They  
were several dozen kilometers away; with his ship's advanced  
technology he was in no danger of being discovered -- at least if  
none possessed any Shadowtech. He thought it over, it seemed  
unlikely. The ex-technomage edged his ship in a bit closer before  
coming to a full-stop.   
  
He waited. And waited, and waited.  
  
Nearly sixteen hours passed, but the Drahk destroyers had done  
little, other than move back and forth around this portion of  
hyperspace, banging away with their active sensors looking for  
something. Well, it wasn't Galen, as that was the first thing the  
ex-technomage had searched for when he arrived.  
  
"Perhaps they came across similar readings as Galen did," he thought  
briefly. He double-checked his own sensors, there were no signs  
of...wait, the energy readout had spiked. Alwyn quickly retreived  
the sensor recordings he'd made previously. He superimposed them and  
the current ones were building to similar levels across all  
categories.  
  
The Drahk ships suddenly stopped their search, quickly made  
formation, before halting in space.  
  
Once again Alwyn's readout spiked, surpassing those he'd made  
previously.  
  
Then, incredibly, hyperspace rippled before all the ships, a  
tremendous dark maw opened, swallowing each of the Drahk vessels one  
by one, and finally Alwyn's flyer.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Galen, covered by the illusion of a spiny-necked Cardassian,  
accessed the Ops database from an empty section of Terok Nor.  
  
A quick search revealed no mention of the Drahk, so he had to take a  
deeper look at the archives, coming across an entry for the previous  
day. The intendant's personal logs detailed meeting a race they  
called "Jem'Hadar." A quick cross-reference of the term lead him to  
an extensive datafile. Apparently the Intendant was trying to  
contact the reptilian warrior species looking for allies. Instead,  
she'd found the Drahk. An involuntary shudder went through the  
technomage as he thought about what the Drahk might be capable of,  
armed with the technology of this universe.  
  
Galen felt he had but one course. He'd have to eliminate O'Brien,  
since he was the key to the wormhole technology, and destroy any  
datafiles.  
  
He also took the time to locate his ship.  
  
The technomage made his way back towards Ops, keeping the illusion  
of the Cardassian as a disguise. He found it empty, save for those  
on duty. There was a raised pedestal which projected extensive power  
readings. Then, right before his very eyes both the Intendant and  
O'Brien materialized in a sudden flash of light. He stood there  
awestruck by what had transpired.  
  
"Get to your post!" another Cardassian had come up from behind,  
while Galen stood there gawking.  
  
Galen closed his mouth and stepped back, having the sense to leave a  
probe on the bulkhead before exiting. As he walked through the  
Promenade, he accessed the probe and watched as escorted parties of  
Drahk materialized via the strange device.  
  
Another shudder ran through his body as he thought of the Drahk and  
this technology being used against EarthForce.  
  
* * * * *  
  
In stealth mode, Alwyn's ship was undetectable. Unlike Galen, who  
been unable to cloak his flyer, the ex-technomage had benefitted  
from the presence of the Drahk. There were nearly a score of ships  
in this portion of space, but couldn't determine what type. As  
Alwyn's ship spilled through the opening, his sensors registered the  
massive emissions of the wormhole, and he recorded everything he  
could.  
  
A formation of strange ships were arrayed about the other side of  
the anomaly, so he remained in place, like a fly on the wall:  
watching, waiting and observing. His sensors matched one of the  
ships in the strange armada. It was Drahk.  
  
His flyer's sensors picked up a transmission. It was in Drahk, a  
leader informing the other Drahk vessels in front of him to stand  
down and follow his orders. They complied, and formed a convoy with  
the other ships before leaving.  
  
Alwyn waited until they were a safe distance apart before initiating  
a search for Galen. It revealed nothing.  
  
With no choice, he followed the alien convoy, which finally lead to  
a space station. He spotted Galen's flyer, attached to a runabout  
pad.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"What can I do for you?" O'Brien asked the Cardassian standing in  
his doorway.  
  
"I need to speak to you about the Drahk."  
  
"Me? Why? I know nothing about...Drahk? Did you say Drahk?"  
  
The Cardassian's face contorted, "The Jem'Hadar."  
  
"Oh, the scaly ones," O'Brien shrugged, "Don't waste your time. The  
Intendant doesn't share her knowledge with me."  
  
"But you are forced to share with her?"  
  
"What is this?" O'Brien sensed something was wrong. "If she sent  
you..."  
  
The illusion around Galen faded.  
  
"You!"  
  
"I'm afraid those aren't Jem'Hadar out there, they're a race called  
the Drahk. Ancient enemies of my people."  
  
O'Brien's mouth formed an "oh," but he said nothing.  
  
"I can't allow you to continue to open wormholes between our  
galaxies," Galen's voice held an ominous, chilling edge.  
  
"I'm afraid I'm the least of your worries. It's the Intendant you  
need to worry about. She's the one in control."  
  
"But you are the brains behind it."  
  
"I guess so," O'Brien gulped.  
  
"You've made logs of your research?"  
  
"Naturally," he'd expected to face the Intendant in this situation,  
but not this soon.  
  
"Then I see only one solution," said Galen, a ball of fire crackling  
to life in the palm of his hand.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The two-man Klingon and Cardassian security team approached the  
airlock. The Cardassian's tricorder hummed as he scanned the seal.  
The airlock's readout was normal. He nodded to the Klingon.  
  
"The airlock is closed, your scanners must be malfunctioning," he  
reported through his comm-unit to Ops.  
  
The Cardassian made a half-turn, then froze. There was a strange  
power-reading coming from the side of the chamber, where the  
bulkhead protruded.  
  
"That's strange..." he started, clutching his chest suddenly and  
gasping. The Klingon followed suit. Both collapsed on the ground.  
  
Alwyn emerged from the bulkhead and studied the pair.  
  
"Amazing constitutions," he said quietly. He'd used a double-dose of  
his knockout drug in subduing the pair.  
  
He resisted the temptation to study the tri-corder and then headed  
off down the passage to find his missing friend.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Galen stepped inside Ops. The technomage waited until the late shift  
had come on before doing so. He used an illusion of the Intendant so  
that he'd face the least resistance.  
  
Those on duty snapped to attention.  
  
"I've some research to conduct," said Galen, modulating his voice in  
the pattern he'd recorded during his interrogration session. "And I  
don't wish to be disturbed."  
  
Those on duty moved to stations on the other side of Ops.  
  
Meanwhile, Galen worked as fast as possible, accessing what data he  
could and noting where the system lockouts were on the files he  
couldn't access. He instructed his holodemon to sit patiently in the  
system and observe. The next time anyone entered or retreived any  
information on the Wormhole Project it would mimic their access,  
then wait until a slack time and get to work, stealing it for his  
master.  
  
Suddenly his holodemon appeared, wounded and worn, before popping  
out of existence. It had been detected by system security protocols.  
  
The technomage closed up, and left Ops quickly.  
  
As he moved down the Promenade, he realized the Cardassian Security  
man, Garak, was following him. Galen slipped into the turbo lift,  
descending down two levels to shake his pursuer.  
  
Moments later the turbo lift opened, and Galen noticed a Klingon had  
joined the Cardassian Security man.  
  
Both produced weapons, then split up.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"An effective disguise," said Garak, materializing suddenly a few  
feet in front of Galen, holding a tri-corder. "I wondered how you  
escaped from the detention area, but now I see why," the Cardassian  
was smiling but his eyes were dead-serious. "To bad for you I  
happened to be with the Intendant when the Ops computer notified me  
of an intruder in the system. Naturally, I became curious."  
  
Galen closed his eyes to conjure a spell, but Garak dropped into a  
crouch suddenly, shooting Galen with a beam of energy. The power was  
astounding, momentarily overloading the technomage's intertwined  
nervous system and tech. He dropped to his knees, gasping. Footsteps  
sounded from behind him. It was the Klingon.  
  
"He seems to be able to partially shield himself from my stunner as  
well," Garak raised from his crouch. He seemed amused. The illusion  
of the Intendant faded, revealing Galen, on all fours.  
  
"Perhaps a more traditional method," grunted the Klingon, adding the  
word "sir" after a moment.  
  
The Klingon grasped Galen by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him  
up against the wall.  
  
Then suddenly, the Klingon drew his disruptor and fired it sideways.  
Garak flew backwards, as if struck by lightning, and lay unconscious  
at the end of the hall.  
  
"A bit dramatic, don't you think?" gasped Galen.  
  
The illusion of the Klingon melted, revealing his age-old friend,  
Alwyn.  
  
"Perhaps. I didn't know they could transport around like that. Good  
thing I noticed your energy signature upstairs."  
  
Galen nodded, "Down, please."  
  
Alwyn smiled and set Galen down, "Are you alright?"  
  
"Essentially, but my battery feels a bit low."  
  
"Fascinating place, did you know..."  
  
"Not now," Galen composed himself, "We need to find a place to hide  
until my conjury can supply me with some additional information.  
I've setup a plan for escape."  
  
"Quite right," Alwyn moved down the hall. He place his hand to his  
chin as he studied the fallen Cardassian. "Well, it won't do to  
leave him laying about." He conjured a flying platform and moved the  
unconscious Garak with them. The pair found empty quarters and  
forced the door.  
  
"How long must we wait?" asked Alwyn.  
  
"A few hours, then we need to leave," Galen sent Alwyn a message,  
attached were several files, including a map which led to the  
docking level and a copy of his escape plan.  
  
"We may need to separate."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"You're sure about this?" asked the bleary-eyed Intendant as she  
accompanied Smiley O'Brien to the docking level. There was no dawn  
on the space station, but by its timeclock, it was nearly morning.  
  
$$  
"Yes ma'am, it came to me in the middle of the night," he tapped the  
padd in his hand, "The veteron bombardment was correct but the  
reaction with the proto-star had inadvertantly created a chroniton  
field. I've found a way to offset the displacement and open a  
wormhole into the Gamma Quadrant."  
  
Initially, the Intendant was furious when she found out the Drahk  
were not the Jem'Hadar. Then, once she realized he had opened a hole  
into another galaxy filled with exploitable soldiery, it no longer  
mattered. As long as the Drahk were willing to cooperate, she could  
dominate them with technology and O'Brien could find the link to the  
Gamma Quadrant at his leisure. She just didn't expect him to find it  
this soon. The day was filled with surprises. Word soon came from  
Security that Garak had found the missing newcomer and was  
conducting an extensive interview with him.  
  
The Intendant took O'Brien's arm as they walked.  
  
"Tinkerer, I'm so glad I spared your life," she placed her weary  
head on his shoulder.  
  
O'Brien smiled, then concentrated on how he might convince the woman  
to send the Drahk ships back first.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The verteron beams wrenched open space, forcing it apart. As it did  
so, the gravimetric beams bolstered the opening, spreading it evenly  
until it blossomed into a stable, circular ripple.  
  
O'Brien studied the readings, then nodded to the Intendant.  
  
"Order the Drahk through," she commanded. The ship's counter was set  
and the parties were to rendezvous in ninety-five timeparts.  
  
Galen and Alwyn sat behind the small fleet, hidden in their ships.  
As the Drahk slipped into the opening they moved forward to follow.  
  
"Sir," said the Cardassian at the sensor post, "I'm picking up  
readings similar to the Drahk ships."  
  
"What?" said Damarr. "It must be an echo."  
  
"No sir, they're similar, but slightly different."  
  
A shudder went through O'Brien. Both he and Galen had hoped the  
crewmembers would be weary from the early hour.  
  
Damarr studied the readout. The readings were similar, but not  
nearly as large. It was as if a small shuttle was headed for the  
wormhole.  
  
A quick check with Terok Nor revealed that Garak had ordered the  
newcomer's black ship freed, so he could test it.  
  
"It must be Garak, he's using the newcomer's ship," reported Damarr.  
  
"No doubt trying to slip through the wormhole and reap a bit of  
glory for himself," the Intendant said wearily. She nodded to a  
Klingon nearby, who spoke into his communicator.  
  
O'Brien, whose post was next to Damarr's, received a another shock  
as he viewed the sensor display: A pair of cloaked warbirds  
shimmered into existence, heading straight for the wormhole.  
  
The Intendant smiled, "Order your comrades to find and destroy  
Garak, then proceed to the Drahk homeworld as my ambassadors." The  
Klingon nodded then sent the transmission.  
  
O'Brien glanced at the pad in his hand. It was now or never. He hit  
the transmit button and main power on the ship fluttered, then shut  
down. The Backup system switched on the transporter unit a  
split-second later. As the others looked about the bridge in panic,  
O'Brien disappeared in a flash of light.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Nice of you to drop in," said Galen, as O'Brien materialized in the  
cockpit of his flyer. The technomage's smile disappeared as a  
message arrived from Alwyn. In addition to the four Drahk ships, two  
other ships from the other side had appeared in the hole in space.  
  
The warbirds locked onto the energy signatures of the two technomage  
ships briefly, before being shattered to pieces as the wormhole  
suddenly collapsed on top of them.  
  
Both Alwyn's and Galen's flyers were buffeted severely by the  
shockwave, but with the head start they enjoyed, they were able to  
safely ride out the disturbance.  
  
A message arrived from Alwyn, "Are you alright Galen?"  
  
The technomage conjured a hologram of his friend, "Yes, it's nice to  
be back home."  
  
"And your friend?"  
  
Galen stepped aside to reveal O'Brien.  
  
"That was bloody close," said the Tinkerer. He took a deep breath  
and sunk into a nearby chair. "What about the Drahk?"  
  
"Hmmm?" Galen studied his ship's sensors. "I'm afraid they're gone."  
  
There was several moments of silence.  
  
"Do you think it worked?" O'Brien asked.  
  
"Only time will tell," said Alwyn, who's ship dumped a hyperspace  
probe, to guard the area. Galen had instructed another holodemon to  
purge the Intendant's databanks, while the Tinkerer had rigged the  
flagship to explode, once his transport was complete. With any luck  
the Intendant was dead and the project data destroyed. "We'll  
monitor the area for the time being. We'll know if they're able to  
recreate your work. If they do, the Rangers can deal with them."  
  
Galen motioned for the padd in O'Brien's hand.  
  
"In the meantime, I'd like to study your transporter technology. I  
have a feeling this will be of some value to my Order."  
  
THE END 


End file.
